Shortaki Week ROUND 2
by Polkahotness
Summary: 8 Prompts from Shortaki Week 2017. All Arnold and Helga. Enjoy and please review!
1. History

History. It was a stupid class meant for those with wide eyes and a mind for past things that meant next to nothing to anybody in my grade.

Everyone that is, except Arnold Shortman.

That kid could SMELL history. He LOVED history like I loved him and while it was slightly angering that the kid was denser than a steel post, there was something about his passion for the topic was…endearing.

Each day I'd go to class with a scowl and find it gone by the end of the period. Not because Mr. Cluver was anyone interesting or had much knowledge to share, but because of the way Arnold's bright green eyes lit up each time a new subject began or ended.

He thrived on it, THAT was easy to tell.

So history class was as good of any-a-class to ask the kid out for once, right?

Ha—WRONG. No WAY was I asking out Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes in HISTORY class of all classes. THAT would make history right there. No, just staring at him made my day and as weird as it sounds, it never got old. Not once.

Well, except that one time.

"So Helga," Arnold said while tapping his pencil on his notebook sheet, "what kind of topic would you like to do for our report?"

I shrugged my shoulders and popped a stick of gum into my mouth and began chewing it with very loud and annoying noises—per usual for me. "I dunno, Arnoldo, why don't YOU think of one, huh? Why's it always gotta be me?"

Arnold smirked and set his pencil down beside his books. "Maybe it's always you because you never give me input on our projects the last three times we've been partners, oddly enough."

Oddly enough, he says. More like planned and strategically so.

"Yeah well, I am no history nerd like you so I think you know more about it than me."

"So why don't you give a try and tell me something you're interested in for once."

I swallowed hard and pursed my lips. "MAYBE I don't WANT to share those interesting details with you, Shortman. Ever think of THAT?"

Arnold twisted in his chair to face me with a very sarcastic and 'I'm-not-buying-it' look plastered on his face. "Of course I have, Helga. Why do you think I'm trying to get you to open up just a little bit?"

"On history," I deadpanned and Arnold shook his head.

"In general, Helga. Just once I'd like to know what it is _you_ think about and are passionate about. Just once."

Once. Just once. The guy wanted me to open up JUST ONCE for him so he could have some leverage next time I teased him and his weird, giant head.

Or maybe, just maybe, he CARED. He CARED about what it was I thought and what it was I cared about so he could get to know me in a way not everybody in the world knew me, which to be honest, all ANYone knew me by was the big bully with a stunning sarcastic wit.

So what was his ANGLE anyway?

I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. "Fine, twerp, I'll humor you. You wanna know what I want to do our report on?"

"Yes, I really do."

With a big breath I let it out slowly and opened my mouth just enough to force the words out. "Native Americans. I want," I huffed, "I want to do our report on Native American culture. There. You happy?"

"And why?" He continued on, though I'd hoped he wouldn't.

"WHY?" I repeated and he leaned back in the chair with a smug look on his perfect face.

"Yes, Helga, why? There has to be some interest in that for you, isn't there?"

"Well DOI," I said loudly, "why would I pick it if it held no INTEREST for me? I've kinda been into ancient cultures since…" I swallowed my words and stopped mid-sentence with halted breath.

"Since when?"

 _Oh, I don't know, since I became_ obsessed _with you at a very young age, did a lot of research and, I don't know, built you a SHRINE worthy of the Green-Eyes._

"Just since a while," I muttered while staring down at my notebook and chewing on my lip.

"Well then," Arnold said as if beginning a grand journey, "I guess we should get started on our American History project now, since we have a theme and all."

"Yeah, yeah, you do whatever YOU want. I'LL man the research end." I decided for him and Arnold raised a brow with a sly grin.

"And you'll be able to provide sources, or are we just doing this with your great mind?"

 _Great mind?_ I repeated his words in my head and forced back a swoon. _He thinks I have a great mind! Oh!_

"Don't go flattering me, Football-head," I tried to sound convincing without a single bit of success. "L-let's just get going on this stupid thing, think you can manage? A whole 'nother project with me again, that is?"

Arnold nodded his head and opened up his textbook while keeping his eyes locked on me. "Of course I can, Helga. I think I can handle you after all these years."

"Think? Arnold, you better KNOW."

Arnold's cheeks flushed and he seemed to falter a bit in his wording before taking a breath and saying, "I _know_ I can, you'll see."

I would see, huh? Well, I guess that means that there might be a date asked out in history class after all. Then again, I could only be so lucky.

Didn't mean I couldn't try once though, right? One asking out isn't too much to actually do, now is it?

I smiled to myself as we began work on our project and began researching all of the power point slides I'd know I could work in a date some way or another into.

I was going to ask out Arnold Shortman, the love of my existence.

I supposed THIS is what it feels like to make history.


	2. Embrace

There was something so special about Helga.

Each touch, each kiss and every embrace felt like a thousand electric frequencies reverberating inside of my chest as if I were in the emergency room being brought back to life by a doctor with paddles yelling, 'All clear!' She was electric to me in a way nothing else was; completely uncharted territory with every chance we had to hug or hold hands or even just peck quickly on the cheek. Each new day with her was special, even if we did nothing, and every day after only held endless possibilities of what we would do next or who we would meet.

Helga made me feel unlike anything I'd ever felt in my entire life. But I suppose that's love, isn't it? Caring for somebody without a single strand of doubt in the mindset as to 'why' or 'how much.'

And sure, it isn't like I hadn't felt love before, but it had never been anything like with Helga.

There was love for my parents—a love that never died even as they were missing from my life for so long.

There was love for my grandparents—a love that didn't die even as they passed onto their next life, whatever that may be.

There was love for my friends—friends that had always been there for me and friends that were close like family (Gerald, of course) that I held close to my heart and even closer to myself for fear of losing them.

But there was never a fear of losing Helga.

And that felt strange to me.

How could one _not_ be afraid to lose another person? Especially when that other person meant more than so much else in the world? THAT was always the one thing about Helga I'd never been able to figure out ever since I first met her.

How was it Helga was always so…THERE and never failing me no matter what she did to bully me, even if it was all for attention? In my life, there had been so few constant people in it but Helga was always one and I'd be fooling myself if she wasn't in my at least top people.

And I was proud of that.

I was proud of everything Helga once was and all she'd become for me. First friend, then bully, then frenemy, then girlfriend and finally, wife. She'd somehow made the rounds with every possible option of how to be in my life before falling into it quite naturally.

I'll admit, I was nervous when I first asked her to marry me, but after she said yes and all was said and done, she fit like the puzzle piece I never knew I needed until I could call her Mrs. Shortman.

My parents were proud that day, I remember. They beamed like true parents do and I could almost see Grandma and Grandpa standing right beside them smiling; grandpa giving me a hardy thumbs up and a wink before I said my 'I Do.'

Life was crazy, that was something inevitable in everybody's life no matter the circumstances behind all that our existence throws at us. But when you find the right person to spend the rest of your life with, all those problems just seem to melt away into nothing and you can just… float.

And that's what I was doing with Helga now—floating; floating our way through life the best way we knew how. That was enough for me, just being content, and embracing the woman I loved in every way a man can embrace her. After knowing Helga, I began to take her all in. I embraced her every flaw, every outburst, every small minute thing that could spell the difference between us and any other couple out there. I embraced it all—the good AND the bad –and when I took a look at my friends' relationships or other relationships, I saw that THAT was what made us, us and them, well, them.

We had a love like nobody else. We shared a life like nobody has and we've been happy through almost all of it.

That's why I was so excited when Helga told me her news today—news I didn't know would send me straight over the moon and further up into the sky where I landed on cloud nine with my lovely wife.

For us, there'd be a NEW member of the family to love and care for in every way there is to do so. For us, there was one more thing to embrace which we'd never tried before and THAT was what made Helga so special.

She was mine. And soon, this baby would be ours.

And I couldn't be happier.


	3. Social Media

Facebook never really meant anything to me. I mean, the concept of the idea is cool and while living with my parents in San Lorenzo it was nice to be able to catch up with everyone and see what they were doing, but other than that, I found not much to be the point in the whole craze.

I'd always assumed Helga felt the same way.

But for some reason, an odd one at that, Helga cared _a lot_ about social media. Whether it was people commenting on her daily poems or even just on our pictures of us, she seemed to care a great load as if the people watching her life played out mattered all of a sudden when they never had in the past.

To be fair though, none of this began to happen until we got together last summer once I returned from San Lorenzo. She told me she could care less but I discovered that wasn't actually the case.

"So, football-head," she'd start conversations, "you decide to change your facebook status to 'in a relationship' yet or am I waiting for nothing?"

To me, the relationship status was just that—a status –not something others depended on for validation in a relationship.

"I haven't been on in a while," was my usual response even though I was always telling the truth. "Why, Helga? Is it important to you that I do?"

This was when her responses usually took a turn for the worst. If it was so important to her, why didn't she just tell me it was? If it was all that important, I'd change it in a heartbeat just for her peace of mind.

But I wasn't done figuring Helga out yet. We may have been together since I won the trip to find my parents and then disappeared for a few years to be with them, but once I came back and we officially got together, there was a lot about Helga I had yet to understand.

And her obsession with the relationship status was one of them.

"Pssh, I don't care," she'd usually say, "And even if I DID care, what would some lamebrain relationship status mean to me ANYway?"

I'd usually smile at her and shrug my shoulders. "I'm not sure. That's why I keep asking you if it's really that important to you."

This usually sent her into an existential crisis, I'd determined. The need for my approval was something Helga seemed to yearn for and if I wasn't happy, she never was. It was almost like while _I_ was trying to figure her out, _she_ was trying to figure _me_ out at the same time. We were almost always in sync like that but without mind-reading (a gift I certainly wasn't born with) there was never any way to tell with her.

"Helga," I finally said one morning while we waited for school to start and were already thrust in the middle of this debate again, "why does a relationship status matter to you if you and I both know we're in a relationship with each other? Why does the rest of the world need to know so badly?"

Helga chewed on her lip as if deciding whether or not to give me a real answer this time. She sighed deeply and said softly, "I guess if I REALLY had to answer that question," she began, "I'd wonder why it is you aren't proud to call me your girlfriend."

This was it. This was the moment I'd finally been waiting for all these months since we started dating. She was…scared. Helga G. Pataki was scared that I didn't really want to be with her.

I guess it didn't really surprise me. Helga had a lot of fears she didn't like to show to others. I suppose it made her feel in control of something, how others see her, and she hid them away to keep that power over other people.

I just never believed she was that afraid of losing me. This time, I wasn't going anywhere any time soon and even if I did, we'd work something out.

I wouldn't say I knew exactly what being in love is, but I knew my feelings for Helga were strong and at this point, I was willing to sacrifice a lot for her.

Even my pride.

"Helga," I said while setting my hand on her shoulder and offering her a warm smile, "If it means that much to you, of course I'll change my status."

"It's not that it means all that much to me that you do it's just," her face was turning red and I knew I was forcing this out of her steel trap of feelings she usually only showed me in the middle of turmoil or in the privacy of my room. "It's just that I've waited…SO LONG to call you my boyfriend, Arnold and to not be able to do that publicly in the only form our generation knows how…I don't know—"

"I think you do know," I pressed and her brow scrunched together as if in frustration that I was making her reveal this much.

"Well frankly, it sucks, Arnold."

Sucks. It was a phrase Helga used a lot but never with so much emotion behind it. I could tell this _was_ very important to her and I'd never thought to think the reasoning behind it would be just that. I always somehow _knew_ we'd end up together when the time was right but I guessed it was nobody's business but ours. But that's just not the way our generation works anymore. Social media has taken over everything and for her, our relationship status was much more than a status—it was a declaration and I'd been putting off declaring it for quite some time now.

Oof. I'd messed up pretty bad.

"I never want you to think I'm not proud to call you my girlfriend, you know. I just never thought to look at it like that."

"Yeah, well…" her voice trailed off and she turned away from me to look out into the Hallway where people were getting ready to go to their first class of the day.

"Helga…" I deadpanned while reaching up to take her chin and gently turn her head back to face mine. "I'll change it. No questions asked. I'm glad you're my girlfriend and if you want the world to know, than I certainly want the world to know too."

"Really?" She asked as the warning bell let out to tell us we have five minutes to get to our classes.

"Really." I said definitively and leaned in to softly peck her lips with as much emotion I could give without breaking any PDA rules. As soon as I pulled back, I looked at her straight in the eyes and said, "I'm so happy I'm with you, Helga. Please don't forget that."

Her eyes shook as she focused on me and I could see water beginning to form at the base of her eyes though the tears never fell. "Thank you, Arnold."

"Every and any time," I said and with that we laced fingers and made our way to the first class we shared together; our future looking brighter than it ever had.


	4. Shadow

*****Helga*****

The smoky glow of the earth darkened our shadows on the ground to that of a heavy black thicker than nightfall. I stared down at our feet as we walked perfectly in sync with the other; our shadows moving with us as we walked on the world below.

It was funny how our images reflected on the pavement, where it looked as though we were one being- one person moving through life together to the same beat of the same drum. I liked to look at that image, our image of us as we strolled the neighborhood without any particular direction as to where we would end up.

Those shadows were where we could see exactly what we were, two people linked together by a force stronger than hand holding or any other visible thing that could tie us together, but in shadow, we were one.

That was how I liked to think of Arnold and me. We had become one of two people. Two souls that found each other at just the right moment and chose to walk this crazy world together, side by side.

On the streets and to others we were but two people, however, to the pavement of the street, our shadows were one. And that was something I was glad to see before me, all thanks to the sun.

* * *

 *****Arnold*****

I stared down at our hands that were linked together as tightly as they usually were. Helga had the tendency of holding my hand with quite the grip while we walked as if holding her aggression inside her with every person she came in contact with.

Every person, that is, except me.

She held onto my hand as if I'd float away from her at any instant; as if there was anywhere I'd rather be.

Truth be told, I was happy just being with her. Going places, seeing things, doing even the most minimal of activities were things I thrived on in my every day life. Going with Helga was where I wanted to go.

Together, we were one, and as I looked down at our shadow I could see the outline of our bodies perfectly intertwined into one where our hands were locked together.

Helga was mine and I was hers. It was something I'd never expected and yet something I'd expected my entire life.

I was just glad the earth was mirroring us just that, as if to show me, and to show the world, that not for one second was I going to let Helga go.

Not again.

* * *

 _ **so i had a very specific vision for this chapter- one that of course required art which i cant do. SO. here i am with the written part of it if anyone is ambitious haha.**_


	5. Discovery OR Explosion

Slowly we approached the glowing green rock, our hands intertwined with the other for fear of something happening that would drag us apart again and only further lose us in the jungle. Ever since splitting up from Gerald, Phoebe and the rest of the class thanks to that god-awful waterfall, Arnold and I were extra careful not to lose each other.

Not like I was complaining about holding his hand, I was in sheer heaven, even if I was dirtier than a monkey's butt and covered in scrapes and newfound bruises. _I_ was holding _Arnold's_ hand! Oh!

"Do you think it is…" Arnold asked, though his voice trailed off and I nodded my head while taking steps with him toward the mysterious glow.

"I mean, what ELSE could it be?" I countered, Arnold's eyes locked on the rock as if in a trance and I allowed him to let go of my hand in pursuit of what appeared to be La Corazon after all.

Soon, he was standing directly in front of it, his whole body basking in the glow of the rock as it began to pulse with green color, almost egging Arnold on to touch the thing or something.

Which oddly enough, is exactly what he did.

A big burst of light erupted from the rock, and while I reached up to shield my eyes from the glow, Arnold kept his hands on what was DEFINITELY La Corazon and stared down at it seemingly unphased.

"Arnold!" I yelled to him though he didn't even flinch. "Arnold! Let go of the dang thing!"

But he was persistent and his eyes stayed wide as the explosion of light only grew brighter the longer he held his hand on top of it.

"What are you doing?! ARNOLD!"

At last, the light drowned out to that of a glow once more and Arnold took his hands off of the rock to turn around and look at me with wide eyes; his irises glowing greener than I'd ever seen them before.

"They know," He said, and I scrunched my brow together in confusion. "They know we're coming."

"How do you—"

"It's their entire history, Helga. It's all in there. Their past, present, and future."

"Lemme see," I started but Arnold blocked me from it and shook his head.

"You can't. Not yet."

"And just why not, huh? Part of your secret club or something? C'mon, Arnold, let me—"

"NO, Helga," His voice was strong and unlike anything I'd ever heard out of him before. "My dad said this was the most sacred thing in the world to the green-eyes. I shouldn't have touched it myself and I don't want you getting in trouble for it."

I nodded my head slowly, taking in his every word. "So…what do we do then? You already went and TOUCHED it."

"Easy," he said before carefully wrapping the rock up in the burlap sack that sat halfway around the rock. "There. All done. We should be going."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey," I said while raising my hand up to stop him and his mighty rock, "I might not be able to TOUCH that thing, but you could at least TELL me what you saw, you know."

Arnold seemed to think about this for a while before nodding his head and walking towards me while holding La Corazon. "They like you, that's one thing."

"The green-eyes?"

"Yeah. The way you stick by me no matter what. It's admirable."

My heart thumped inside my chest and I tried not to swoon and somehow instead managed to be angry for them at knowing my secret.

"Admirable schmadmirable what happened next?"

"Well," he started while scrunching his brows together as if in deep thought, "They have cared for me since I was born which I kind of already knew, but they'd been _waiting_ for me to be born which is….different."

"And their future? What is in store for the green-eyes if you said their future is in there?"

"I can't…I can't remember. It's all so blurry like a dream I just woke up from but can't remember any of the details. I just remember happiness."

I grinned. "So we succeed. We get La Corazon back to the Green-Eyes and all is right with the world, right?"

Arnold stopped walking beside me and sighed. "Not exactly. Not without great sacrifice."

"Sacrifice of what? A life?"

Arnold shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. That's just what I remember."

"Hmm," I hummed while continuing to walk through the jungle with Arnold and La Corazon by my side. It seemed we'd done our part but the future was still uncertain for the green-eyes. Happiness is a pretty broad statement as I'd learned and if their happiness was determined by a great sacrifice by Arnold, maybe there was something to fear after all.

I mean, what better sacrifice than true love could there be?


	6. Shelter

_**so far, this is one of my favorite ones for some odd reason. please let me know what you think!**_

 _ **-Polka**_

* * *

Sirens went off around the town as the tornado grew nearer. For some, it was a sign to get indoors and in a basement right away. For others, it meant just getting in a ditch or a nearby bridge. For me, it meant bunkering down with the Shortmans n' company.

"All right troops," Arnold's Grandma said with a banging of her ladle on the wall of the kitchen as we were mid-dinner, "Time to head to the Armory! HUP two three four, HUP two three four, HUP two—"

"Cool it Pookie, some of us are still eatin' over here," Grandpa Phil said as Arnold's dad leaned over the table to place a hand calmly on his father's shoulder.

"Dad, the sirens for tornadoes are going off, can't you hear them?" Miles asked and Phil's reaction was to turn up his hearing aid and look at his son straight in the face.

"What were you saying, now?" He asked, and Stella decided to pipe in from across the table.

"We have to get down to the shelter immediately," she said with urgency in her voice. "We'd better get going before the storm reaches us and we're all still eating in here."

"But I didn't get to finish my sandwich," Oskar whined and it took most of my might not to lean over the table and slap him silly for such a statement.

Thankfully, Mr. Hyunh and Ernie were on it.

"Oskar ya big nutjob, we gotta get going, didn't you hear the lady?" Ernie said while hopping off of his seat to land on the floor. "Mother Nature is ready to BLOW this baby UP!"

"Ernie!" Mr. Hyunh said in his usual tone, "You can't say thing like that. Scares children!"

That was partially true.

If it was one thing about me, I hated storms. Ever since the flood from elementary school, they'd always made me kind of wary and being caught in the middle of one never made my day any better; even if I WAS stuck in the middle of one with Arnold.

There was just something about the uncertainty and being unable to control anything in a storm that made my skin start to crawl. And after almost getting lost in the sea of water in the flood, something I DEFINITELY wasn't expecting, storms of ANY kind always made me unsure of what was to come next.

And I HATED not knowing what was going to come next.

"C'mon, Helga," Arnold said, dragging me out of my thoughts; his hand warm on my shoulder. "We should get going if we're going to beat the storm."

"And even if we do beat it?" I asked while standing up and following him downstairs to the emergency storm shelter of the boarding house. "What happens if that storm gets us ANYway?"

Arnold smiled and took my hand in his. "Then at least we'll experience whatever comes together."

"Arnold, you're sweet and all but that's not a great consolation prize. Tornadoes can be fierce, I hear." I said with slight tremor in my voice and Arnold squeezed my hand tight in his.

"Are you _scared_ Helga? Because, you know, we went through a lot in the jungle and you hardly even _flinched_. Why is this scaring you so bad now?" He asked and I let go of his hand in anger at pointing out my fears so bluntly.

"Everyone has FEARS, Football-head," I said as we approached the shelter and began our downward decent inside of it. "You don't have to go acting like I'm some Nancy or something just because something TOTALLY out of our control freaks me out just a little bit, okay? I mean CRIMINY Arnold, how insensitive can you be?"

He sighed and pulled me aside from the group and tilted my chin up with his hand to look at him rather than my shoes. "Helga, I'm not making fun of you for being scared, I'm just saying that you're a pretty tough cookie and I'm surprised that something like this would scare someone as strong and determined like you. That's all."

"Well," I said while chewing my lip and flinching slightly at the wind as it grew louder and louder from outside the shaking house, "I am. I am s-scared. I can't control this it's out of my hands. I'm scared of losing you in this, Arnold."

With that, he took me in his arms and enveloped me in a hug that lasted the entire tornado warning until the storm broke and we were free to finish our now-cold dinners up above. It felt nice to know that someone out there knew my fears and didn't judge me of them. It felt even nicer that it was Arnold, my boyfriend, my friend, and tonight, my protector. Because sometimes, even the strongest people need something or someone to hold onto when things go bump in the night.


	7. Sticky Situation

Running through the forest at top speed, Arnold, myself and his parents were hot on the trail of finding La Sombra, that is we WERE until HE found US. Now we were running for our lives away from the crazy guy and his radical group of followers in hopes that we wouldn't be caught and put into prison after just breaking free Arnold's parents. It had been hard to distract the guards long enough to get them out, but it was a sure good thing I'd picked a few locks in my day (we won't talk about where) because we were out in a jiffy and things were running smoothly.

Until La Sombra showed back up to camp and realized they were gone.

Then it was screaming and yelling and "I'll get you if it's the last thing I'll do" so we had no choice but to run the heck out of there and begin running for our very lives.

"Hurry, hurry up, Helga!" Arnold was yelling as he led the way and I huffed and puffed while trying to run on my hurt ankle; growling his direction.

"Don't you…think I'm…TRYING?!" I hollered back in between breaths.

"We're fine for now," Stella said as she ran just a few feet behind us with Miles. "Just keep up the pace and we'll lose him for now. I know of a safe place from the green eyes that we can hide in."

"What safe place?" Miles asked curiously while running beside her and she looked at him softly.

"Honey, that place where we left the sleeping sickness medicine, its just over this vat of quick—"

But before she could get the words out, Arnold fell straight into it, yelping as he fell in and his parents began to panic.

"Arnold!" The three of us yelled and it didn't take long for me to burst into action.

Seeing the vines trailing from the tree he'd fallen beside, I grabbed one and yanked on it to make sure it was stable. Then, with speed, I tied it around my waist and took the deepest breath of my life before jumping in after him and waving my arms as wildly as possible through the thick sand in hopes to find his own arm looking for mine.

At first, I wasn't sure my instincts had been right jumping in to search for the son two parents up above had hardly seen for his entire life, but I knew SOMEbody would have to jump in there and save that football-headed dweeb so it might as well be me. They may have the experience, but I know the kid and I knew he'd need some Helga G. Pataki-brand saving.

Finally, I felt the soft of flesh grabbing for my hand and I held onto him firmly while yanking on his arm to pull him into me. Once I had my arm around him, I yanked on the vine and found that it was being pulled for me; revealing me to the world with Arnold safely in tow.

"Oh, Arnold, Arnold!" They both cried as they pulled him up to stand beside them completely covered in sand. I sat on the ground and coughed heavily while trying to catch my breath.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked over to see Stella attached to it. "That was a very brave thing you just did, Helga."

I shrugged my shoulders and offered her a weak smile. "It…it was…n-nothing…" I gasped out but she shook her head.

"You know, a long time ago when Miles and I were in this jungle, he fell into a vat of quick sand just like this one. Needless to say I didn't get there fast enough to pull him out and I had to do exactly what you did. You handled that sticky situation with poise and grace and a lot of smarts that people your age don't normally have."

I beamed knowing that I'd impressed Arnold's parents at least once in this crazy journey and nodded my head. "Th-thank you, Stella," I said while she helped me up to stand and then put her game face back on.

"Alright, troop," she began, "so far we've out-run them, but that doesn't mean they aren't hot on our trail."

"Exactly," Miles said while letting go of Arnold and pointing further ahead. "The safe space should be just up this hill passed this quick sand and now that we know better…" he said while giving Arnold a look and he blushed slightly, "we'll avoid running so fast that we lose track of each other. Especially in this crazy jungle. Sound like a plan?"

And with that, we were off once more, running away from our enemies, the four of us, a family all our own.


	8. Creator's Choice- I Can Hear the Bells

_**This particular oneshot story thing is based on the sequence of "I Can Hear the Bells" from the magnificent show, Hairspray. I was singing this song and totally thought that it could be a Helga situation so imagine it if she were in a musical or something. if you haven't seen this particular sequence, I suggest watching the song on youtube before reading this fic. I think this idea is rockin' so i really hope you enjoy it!**_

A body bumped into me as they rounded the corner, our bodies colliding as I fell to the floor while they fell in the same fashion just ahead.

"Sorry," we both said in unison while trying to collect our things that we'd spilled onto the hallway floor.

"Helga?" He asked, his eyes wide as he stared at me while I sat frozen in place where I'd fallen.

"Arnold…" I said his name for the first time in years since starting college and BELIEVING we'd chosen different schools.

Apparently not.

"I thought—" I began, though Arnold cut me off.

"I didn't I just…" his voice trailed off and we stared at one another in shock. "I decided to stay."

"Clearly," I stated as he offered me his hand while standing, our eyes still locked on one another's desperate irises.

Hesitantly, I took his hand and he pulled me up to stand before him; our eyes at the same height of one another where we now stood mere inches apart, our noses practically touching.

"I'll…I guess I'll, I'll see you around, Helga," he said before smiling and turning around to leave me in the hallway completely dumbfounded and alone with Phoebe who was staring at Arnold in almost as much shock as I was.

"Was that…?" she asked though she didn't have to finish the question.

"Arnold," I cooed, my hands making their way to cover my heart in a sort-of swoon. "He's here, he's still here…" I muttered to myself while Phoebe reached over to touch to my shoulder to see if I was alright.

"Helga, are you alright?"

"Phoebe, do you hear that?" I asked, while staring off into space where Arnold had walked away.

"Hear what?" She asked while looking around herself in questioning to what I was referring to.

"Don't you hear those bells? Hear how they chime?"

Phoebe scrunched her brows together in confusion though I didn't care enough to look over at her. "What are you talking about, Helga?"

"It's like my heart has started beating in perfect time once more, like I've been asleep since we graduated and now…"

"Now what? Helga, you're worrying me…"

A beat filled my head, my heart beat, and with it the beat of a song I'd nearly plum forgot—the beat of the song of my heart.

"He touched me, he really TOUCHED me once again and my hand, it felt like a thousand pinpricks all throughout my body. Electricity. He reached for my hand and looked me straight into the eyes and touched me! Oh!" I swooned while spinning around once and beginning to walk forward without Phoebe and without a destination.

"Helga? Helga, wait up!" I could hear Phoebe squeak from behind me but I didn't care, I was in my own universe, a universe that had felt lost up until now, up until seeing that marvelous, glorious footballhead once again.

"I can't believe he bumped me," I said while stopping mid-hallway and thinking out loud to myself. "Just like old times he bumped me and ran into me without a care in the world. Without care as to who might be around that corner—me. Me!"

I rounded the next corner in a daze, while going up to the water fountain and hitting the trigger that released the water in a thick stream ready for me to slurp. Doing so, I spoke through the water, "It was just a simple bump," I leaned upwards to stop drinking from the fountain and wiped my mouth with my sleeve of my left arm and continued to walk on cloud nine down the hallway. "He knocked me off my feet, literally, and for a moment, just a moment, I was flying."

"Well of course you were flying, Helga," Phoebe chimed in, and to be honest, I'd forgotten she was even there. "You were flying through the air due to the velocity at which—"

But I cut her off again.

"Then I fell on the floor and all was lost until I looked up and saw those beautiful green eyes staring back at me; eyes which I haven't seen for years until now. They were eyes that used to complete my very day and after not seeing them for years, I just can't help myself but to drink them in and when he reached for my hand—oh! –when he reached for my hand, I nearly fell back over again. His one little touch had love knocking me out like a pillowcase full of bricks. Arnold, Arnold…Arnold…"

"Helga, I think you might need to come to the nurse's station with me," Phoebe said while grabbing my hand and yanking me to follow her. "You're acting delirious..."

"Delirious shmerious, Pheebs, he touched me. He TOUCHED me… after all these years…"

"Come on, we'll get you to the nurse's and then you'll be all back to normal, you'll see."

Normal. What WAS normal? Was it how I had been feeling before? Because if it was, I never wanted to be normal again. My life was so dull without Arnold around. Arnold, who's head I'd love to punt, that glorious little runt had entered my life once again and I never wanted him to leave me again.

Per Phoebe's request, I sat on the chair in the nurse's office on campus and swung my feet back and forth while staring out at the window revealing a somehow-brighter world to me just outside these four walls. I could see it all, our whole lives together now that he was back.

"First off, he'll ask me out on a date," I said and Phoebe shook her head.

"Please Helga, just remain quiet and we will figure out what's gotten into you," she said but her words meant nothing to me. I was planning our future, our lives together like they were going to be now that he was back in my spectrum.

I was ready.

"Then, I'll get in my nicest clothes, hell, maybe I'll even buy NICER clothes and primp myself in Rhonda Wellington Lloyd style—nothing but the best for Arnold."

"Helga…"

 _And then we'll sit in that ugly Packard of his and hold one another until he leans over and presses his full, luscious lips onto mine and we'll kiss under the moonlight of the night as it bathes us in its glory…_ I thought, my thought process not stopping even though the nurse was inside the small room now taking my blood pressure and temperature.

 _Not like I'll go all the way or anything, that's tacky, but I certainly won't object to going a base or two…_ I kept going, my mind a whirlwind of thoughts as the nurse confirmed that my temperature had climbed slightly, but not enough to give me a pass out of my next class.

"She's just fine, Miss Heyerdahl. Perhaps she hit her head on her way down and is having some slight confusion."

"With all due respect, ma'am, she isn't confused," Phoebe spoke for me as I continued to stare lovingly out the window. "In fact, if I may say so myself, she seems to be less confused and more delirious about a particular person she ran into in the hallway—an old elementary school crush."

"Ahh, one of those, huh Miss Pataki?"

 _Soon, it won't be long until our lives mesh together and he proposes to me, our lives full on the mend and ready for the future—a future Mrs. Shortman,_ I thought next, batting my eyes a few times before nodding to the nurse. "We'll need a proper band at the wedding though," I said aloud and Phoebe turned to give the nurse a knowing look before crossing her arms.

"See? Delirious."

"And to think of all those idiots that thought I was crazy, thought I was insane for loving such a weird-headed kid like that who never loved me back well HA to them and their nonsense. This is MY time, this time…"

The nurse sighed and turned to look at Phoebe once again. "Do you think she may just need to sleep it off?"

"They all thought a goody-goody like Arnold would never like someone like me, Helga G. Pataki, but boy were they wrong. BOY were they WRONG. YOU saw how he looked at me Pheebs… that was the look of love if I've ever seen it. He's back, he's back! Oh!" I swooned before falling back onto the paper-lined bed and Phoebe nodded her head.

"Perhaps a good nap is all she needs after all. Thanks Nurse Rudd," she said before reaching for my hand and pulling me to my feet in pursuit of our dorm room which we shared together.

But I wasn't paying any attention.

 _Just think of it, Helga,_ I thought, _everyone will smile as I walk down that aisle and when Olga starts to cry I won't see cause Arnold and I will be French-kissing, my wedding will be the talk of the town, the talk of a LIFETIME!_

The words echoed in my head as we finally made our way to the dorms, Phoebe pulling me all the way until we reached our room, room 213.

 _And besides, Helga old girl, today's just the start because one day it will be 'till death do us part and even when we die, we'll look down from up above and remember this day—the day that we both fell in love. Perhaps we'll shed a tear and we'll embrace each other as we reminisce over what just happened today—the day that we bumped into one another and he offered me his hand…_

It wasn't long before Phoebe helped me to lay in my lower bunk while pulling the covers over me. "Now Helga, if you need anything, you just give me a call on my cellphone, alright?"

"Alright Pheebs, but I'm telling you, I'm fine I'm just—"

"You're in shock is what you're in," she answered while fluffing my pillow softly under my head. "It's a lot to take in, I understand, but you can't let a simple touch affect you in such a way. It was after all, just a touch."

"A touch that symbolizes so much, Phoebe. More than you will ever understand. I could HEAR the bells, Pheebs."

"The bells?"

"The bells," I repeated with a smile before shutting my eyes and Phoebe sighed while patting my shoulder and exiting our room to leave me with my imaginings.

I'd heard them, the bells, the bells of our future ringing with that touch. Arnold was in town, in MY town, and he knew I existed once again.

And nothing could make me happier.

 _ **Well folks, that's all she wrote for Shortaki week! please be sure to review and let me know what you think of all the days if you haven't already and be sure to let me know what you think of this one! Like i said, this is kind of a crossover kinda deal, so keep that in mind and PLEASE watch the sequence of "I can hear the bells" if you haven't already. can't wait to hear what you think and I'll see you all next time!**_

 _ **please review!**_

 _ **-polka**_


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